02 May 2024
Indian Air Force inducts Rampage long-range missile
by Akhil Kadidal & Raghuraman C S
The Elbit Systems Rampage is a stand-off weapon with all‐weather capabilities and is designed for deep penetration strikes. (Elbit Systems)
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is inducting Elbit Systems' Rampage supersonic, long-range air-to-ground missile, the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) announced.
As a stand‐off weapon (SoW) capable of engaging high‐value targets in attack missions, the Rampage is expected to give the IAF significant strike capabilities. The IAF's induction of the missile will allow its aircraft “to strike targets up to 250 km away”, the MIB said on 30 April.
According to the MIB, the missiles are being deployed on IAF Sukhoi Su-30, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29, and Sepecat Jaguar combat aircraft.
The IAF told Janes it could not comment on the matter as the service has not issued an “official notification” on the missile. Janes understands that while the missile has likely been deployed with IAF Su-30 and Jaguar units, it is not yet operational with the IAF's MiG-29 UPGs and Fulcrum-As.
The IAF acquisition follows the Indian Navy's acquisition of the missile for its carrier-borne MiG-29K fleet. Janes assesses the Indian Navy potentially acquired the missile in 2022. The same year, the IAF began setting up a test facility for the Rampage in Goa.
The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) subsequently announced in a request for information (RFI) in November 2023 that it sought to integrate a long-range SoW with IAF MiG-29s. At the time, Janes assessed that this SoW could likely be the Rampage or the precision-guided Al Tariq-LR munition, which has a range of between 120 and 200 km.
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) is inducting Elbit Systems' Rampage supersonic, long-range air-to-ground ...
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